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Kuala Lumpur is world’s most polluted city due to haze, Singapore third, index shows

Kuala Lumpur is world’s most polluted city due to haze, Singapore third, index shows
South China Morning Post Wednesday 30 September 2026, 12:43 UTC By Agence France-Presse 1 min read
Key Points

Malaysia’s capital topped a global pollution ranking on Wednesday and nearby Singapore came in third, with smoke from wildfires in neighbouring Indonesia blamed for the unhealthy conditions. A milky haze has shrouded the cities for more than a month as smoke drifted from fires on Borneo and Sumatra islands. Kuala Lumpur was the world’s most polluted major city early on Wednesday, according to Swiss monitor IQAir, with an Air Quality Index (AQI) reading of 166.

Malaysia’s capital topped a global pollution ranking on Wednesday and nearby Singapore came in third, with smoke from wildfires in neighbouring Indonesia blamed for the unhealthy conditions. A milky haze has shrouded the cities for more than a month as smoke drifted from fires on Borneo and Sumatra islands. Kuala Lumpur was the world’s most polluted major city early on Wednesday, according to Swiss monitor IQAir, with an Air Quality Index (AQI) reading of 166. Singapore ranked third at 155. The...
Kuala Lumpur (LOCATION) Singapore (LOCATION) Malaysia (LOCATION) Indonesia (LOCATION) Borneo (LOCATION) Sumatra (ORG) Swiss (ORG) IQAir (ORG) Air Quality (ORG) AQI (ORG)
Originally published by South China Morning Post Read original →

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